Land Rover pulls 100-tonne train

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A Land Rover Discovery Sport pulls three train carriages nearly 60 times its weight - the equivalent of towing a Boeing 757 airliner

The Land Rover Rover Discovery Sport diesel was standard, part from being fitted with guidance wheels to literally keep it on track.

The demonstration of pulling power performed on 85ft high bridge in Switzerland was aimed at demonstrating the car's towing capacity, semi-autonomous driving technology and 178bhp Ingenium diesel engine.

Although the Discovery Sport has a certified maximum towing weight of 2,500kg (2.5 tonnes), it was able to pull 58 times its own weight - aided by Land Rover’s towing and traction technologies such as Terrain Response, Tow Assist, Tow Hitch Assist and All Terrain Progress Control. The latter is a semi-autonomous off-road driving system that automatically manages engine output and braking.

The Discovery Sport completed a six-mile tow of the three rail carriages without the aid of a low-range gearbox, relying instead on the diesel engine's torque and Land Rover’s All Terrain Progress Control (ATPC) system, to maximise traction at a set speed. Acting much like a low-speed cruise control’ ATPC allows the driver to focus on the road – or in this case the railway – ahead.

Karl Richards, lead engineer for stability control systems at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Towing is in Land Rover’s DNA, and despite Discovery Sport being the smallest model in the range, it has proved its exceptional towing capabilities.

“Over the years, we have introduced game-changing towing technologies to take the stress out of towing for our customers. I’ve spent most of my career travelling to the most punishing parts of the world to test Land Rovers in grueling conditions, yet this is the most extreme towing test I’ve ever done.”

Land Rover has a history of rail conversions, from the days of the Series II and IIA Land Rover to the various Defender models that have been modified to run on rails for maintenance, and the notable launch of Discovery I in 1989, when a converted Discovery towed a series of carriages in Plymouth to demonstrate the capability of the then-new 200Tdi diesel engine.

Its managing director James Platt, said: “For a vehicle of this size to pull a combined weight of more than 100 tonnes demonstrates real engineering integrity. No modifications were necessary to the drivetrain whatsoever and in tests the Discovery Sport generated more pull than our road-rail Defender, which is remarkable.”